Railroad-ticket.



No. 775,838. PATBNTED NOV. 22, 1904.

L. N. LYON & W. DONALDSDN.

RAILROAD TICKET.

APPLIOATION FILED MAR.12. 1904.

no. trasse.

Starts Patented November 22, 190%.

)artnr trice..

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 775,838, dated November22, 1901i.

Application filed March l2, 1904.

.To @ZZ whom, it may concer/t:

Be it known that we, LuoNIDAS N. LYON and VVns'rBnooK DONALDSON,citizens oi3 the United States, residing at Flatonia, in the county ofFayette and State ot' Texas, have invented new and useful improvementsin Railroad Tickets, of which the following is. a specification.

This invention relates to railroad-tickets; and the object thereof is toprevent the sale by the original purchaser to some other person of thereturn passage portion oitl the ticket or at least to minimize thechances ot it being sold.

Primarily the invention resides in providing the ticket with anexchange-coupon for a return-passage ticket, said coupon preferablybeing provided with cipher inscriptions te indieate, respectively, therailroad which issued. the ticket, the station for which return-passagelis desired, the route oil. the return-passage ticket, the station atwhich the ordercoupon is to be presented, and for identilication by theagent to which the order is presented. The cipher-inscribedexchange-coupon is substantially an order upon the ticket agent for areturn-passage ticket, and the cipher incriptions thereon are such as tobeunintelligible to the purchaser or any one else except the necessaryrailway ofiicials, and the employment of said cipherinscribed exchangecoupon is to prevent what is commonly known as iscalpingx The scalpersprincipal help in being able to ply his trade is his ability to get holdet' the identical ticket or anintelligent order for the same, andthereby be able to sell it to a person other than the one the railroadcompany intended should return on it. Return-tickets are usually'sold ata reduced rate, and the scalper is able to buy the return portion for amuch smaller sum than the regular rate would be and then sell them for anominal reduction under the regular rate, thereby causing that much lossto the railroad company. The cuiller-inscribed exchange-coupon for aretinal-passage ticket being unintelligible to the scalper, the risk hewould run in purchasing one ot' them would be so great that noordinarily cautious person or even one less than ordinarily cautiouswould or could ai'ord to run the risk of biilying them.

Serial Nol 197.863. (Nomodel.)

Therefore it is evident that by the eunjiloyment o1" thecipher-inscribed exchange-coupon a person holding that coupon tor areturn-ticket could go into a ticketscalpei"s otiice and oiier to sellhim the coupon, informing the scalper that it was for a return-ticket toa station a thousand miles from where thc scalper is situated, and inreality the coupon would only call for a return passage to a stationonly twenty miles away, there being nothing on the coupon inopen-language to indicate where or what the return-station is, and thechances are that the scalper would not take the risk in buying thecoupon.

lo more clearly set forth our invention For 65 obtaining the foregoingobjects, reference had to the accompanying' drawings, forming a part ofthis specilication, and in which- Figures Il and 2 illustrate,respectively, a iront and back View ot' the ticket.

Referriiig to the drawings by reference characters, the ticket comprisesin its construction a body portion l, upon one face ot' which is printedor otherwise placed thereon a contract which is to be signed by thepurchaser and readix'ig substantially as follows: ln consideration ol"the reduced rate at which this ticket is sold l agree to all itsconditions and agree to present the order which is in cipher andattached hereto to the ticket-agent at destination for a return-passageticket, suitable space being arranged upon the body portion l for thepurchasei"s signature.

To one end ot the body portion oi the ticket is attached a passage-goingcoupon or coupons. For example, three passage-going coupons are shownand numbered, respectively, 2, 3, and s, and also is shown, Jr'orexample, a transiter-coupon 5 tor passage from one railroad-depot toanother in the same city. The number ot' the passage-going coupons willbe increased or diminished, as occasion requires. To the other end olithe body portion Al is attached the order-coupon 6.

The passage-going coupon 2 is provided w i th an inscription '7 toindicate the two stations between which the coupon 2 permits thepurchaser to travel,as shown, 'tor example, From Central Texas to W'aco,Texas. The coupon 2 is also proviiiled with a suitable inscription,

TOO

as at 8, to indicate the naine of the railroad over which the purchaseris traveling between the stations indicated on the coupon 2. Thepassage-going coupon 3 is provided with an inscription 9 to indicate thetwo stations between which the -coupon 3 permits the purchaser totravelfor example, From Waco, Texas, to Red River. The coupon 3 is alsoprovided with a suitable inscription 10 to indicate the name of therailroad over which the Vpurchaser is traveling between the stations'indicated on the coupon.V The passage-going coupon 4 is provided withan inscription 11 to indicate the two stations between which the coupon4: permits the purchaser to travelfor example, F rom Red River to St.Louis, Missouri. The coupon 4 is also provided with a suitableinscription l2 to indicate the name of the railroad over which thepurchaser is traveling between the stations indicated on said coupon.The transfer-coupon 5 is provided with a suitable inscription 18 toindicate the depots between which the purchaser travels when beingtransferred from one to the other-for example, From S. A. & P. depot,Waco, to M. K. & l?. T. cle13ot,\Vaco. The coupon 5 is also providedwith a suitable inscription to indicate which railroad issues thecoupon. The foregoing arrangement of coupons is the ordinary formemployed for railroad-tickets, and is set forth to more clearlyillustrate the invention in connection with the order-coupon.

The cipher-inscribed exchange-coupon 6, which, as before stated, isconnected, preferably, at the upper end of the body portion l, isprovided with a cipher inscription, as at 15 for example, 817L-forindicating the railroad which issues the ticket; with a cipherinscription, as at 16-for example, 9.9, 625to indicate the station forwhich return passage is desired; with a cipher inscription, as at 17-for example, 340 -for indicating the route of the return passage; with acipher inscription, as at 18gfor example, Q88-to indicate the date limitof the return-passage ticket, and with a cipher inscription, as at 19forexample, 1,0%-to indicate the station at which the coupon for returnpassage is to be presented. As shown, for the cipher inscriptions 15,16, 17, 18, and 19 numerals are employed; but it is evident that letterscan be employed instead or other suitable cipher-indicating means. Thecipher inscriptions 15, 16, 17, and 18 are shown extending transverselyof the coupon and the cipher inscription 19 as extending horizontally ofthe coupon; but it is evident that the cipher inscriptions can bearranged upon the coupon in any suitable manner. A suitable time-limitinscription is provided on the back of the coupon, as at 19.

The exchange-coupon is also provided with a cipher inscription, as at20, which is adapted for the use of the agent to which the order ispresented. The cipher inscription Z0 is illustrated bythe letter Af butit is evident that a numeral can be employed or other cipher-indicatingmeans. Cipher inscription 20 identifies for the agent to which thecoupon is presented the necessary cipher-inscription key-book ofreference. The cipher-inscription key-book contains the key to thevarious cipher inscriptions. Preferably a cipher-inscription key-.bookof reference will be employed separately for each railroad, each book ofreference having a different cipheridentification means; but, ifdesirable, but one cipher-inscription key-book of reference may beemployed.

vWhen the purchaser of the ticket presents the exchange-coupon to theticket agent, the cipher inscription 15 will indicate to the ticketagent the railroad which issues the ticket, the cipher inscription 16will set forth to the agent the station for which return-passage ticketis to be issued, the cipher inscription 17 will indicate to the agentthe route of the return-passage ticket, the cipher inscription 18 willindicate to the agent whether the coupon is presented in time for thepurchaser to receive the return-passage ticket, and the cipherinscription 19 will indicate to the ticket agent whether the order 6 ispresented to the correct ticket-office. Tf the exchange-coupon ispresented to the correct ticket-oiice and the time has not expired, thenthe ticket agent will give to the purchaser his return-passage ticketaccording to what is set forth by the cipher inscriptions l5, 16, and17.

By the employment of the cipher-inscribed IOO exchange-coupon it isextremely doubtful whether any one would take the risk in purchasing thesame from the original holder, for the reason that the cipherinscriptions are unintelligible to any one except the railroadoflicials, and consequently the would-be purchaser would not know whathe was buying. Therefore it is thought by the arrangement set forth thatthe scalping of tickets will be reduced to a minimum-that is to say, ifa ticket is issued by a railroad company provided with the cipher-inscribed exchangecoupon.-

It is thought that the many advantages of my improved railroad-ticketcan be readily understood from the foregoing description, taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, and it will furthermore beevident that changes, variations, and modifications can be resorted towithout departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificingany ofits advantages, and we therefore do not wish to restrict ourselves tothe details of construction hereinbefore described and as set forth inthe annexed drawings, but reserve the right to make such changes,variations, and modifications as come properly within the scope of theprotection prayed.

Having thus fully described our invention,

IIO

what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isAw 1. Arailroad-ticket comprising a passagegoing coupon, an exchange-coupon fora return passage, suitable inscriptions to indicate the character of thecoupons, and said exchange-coupon provided with cipher inscriptions.

2. A railroad-ticket comprising as a part thereof, an exchange for areturn passage and suitable inscriptions to indicate the character ot'the exchange, said exchange portion having` cipher inscriptions.

3. A railroad-ticket comprising a body portion having a contract thereonfor the passenger to sign, a 'passage-going coupon or coupons connectedto one end of the body portion, and an exchange-coupon for a returnpassage attached to the other end of said body nesses.

LEUNIDAS N. LYUN. 'i/VESTBROUK DONALDSON. `'Vitnesses:

W. WILLEFoR'I), F. A. NnsRs'rA.

